Application:MetaDoctor
What is the Meta Doctor?
The Webos Internals Meta Doctor is a set of shell scripts which modify a copy of the Palm Webos Doctor to bypass the "First Use" application and allow the phone to run without having been activated on a cell network.
They reach into Palm's distributed Doctor jar file and make changes which prevent the first use app from running.
If you are on a Linux system, the process is very easy:
If you are on a Windows or Mac system, you will need to find a Linux system, or you will need to install a virtual machine. Detailed instructions for that are below under Using a Virtual Machine.
Using the Meta-Doctor in Linux
Getting Ready
- Open terminal from the applications, accessories menu.
- If you have git installed, skip this step. If you do not have git installed, type:
sudo apt-get install git
and follow the directions to install git. - Now type:
git clone git://git.webos-internals.org/tools/meta-doctor.git
- If you do not have patch installed, you will need to install patch. On an Ubuntu system type:
sudo apt-get install patch
- If you do not have java installed do so. To install java, choose (applications>Ubuntu Software Center> type java 6 runtime in search) It is easiest to search for java to find it, then follow the on screen instructions. It should be pretty simple.
- Download and install the palm sdk from http://developer.palm.com. Download the version for Ubuntu Here and install it.
- Open a terminal and navigate to the meta-doctor directory where the meta-doctor was copied to in step 3 above. For example:
cd meta-doctor
- Ensure that there is a downloads directory. If there is not one, create one using
mkdir downloads
- Download the latest webosdoctor file using the download paths found at Webos Doctor Versions .The wr version is the German/UK GSM version. An example download command would be:
cd downloads
wget http://palm.cdnetworks.net/rom/p121r0d10092009/b11ep121rod/webosdoctorp100ewwbellmo.jar
- Rename the file that you download to webosdoctorp100ewwsprint-1.2.1.jar (or webosdoctorp100eww-wr-1.1.3.jar or webosdoctorp100ewwbellmo-1.2.1.jar). An example command to do that would be:
mv webosdoctorp100ewwbellmo.jar webosdoctorp100ewwbellmo-1.2.1.jar
Doing it
- Navigate to the meta-doctor directory in the terminal by opening terminal and typing "cd meta-doctor"
- Type one of the following:
make CARRIER=sprint unpack patch pack
make CARRIER=wr unpack patch pack
make CARRIER=bellmo unpack patch pack
- depending on the carrier in question.
This should begin a process within terminal that should take 10 minutes max.
Error conditions
If an error message appears with unknown in a file name, check the file rename in step 8 above.
How to change a provider's DB-entry so 3G data can be used on the Pre
This post and this thread describe various ways to adjust the provider's data base in the Pre, so the 3G datacom works on non-supported networks. This can only be done after activation has been completed over WiFi.
Prepare to run the new Meta'ed Doctor
The updated doctor version has the same name as the original, but is in a new folder: meta-doctor/build/pre-p100eww-sprint-1.2.1/webosdoctorp100ewwsprint-1.2.1.jar.
If you are running in Ubuntu, you can just run the new jar file now.
If you are running Ubuntu using VM, you will need to copy the new jar out of the VM into your live desktop to run the jar in your native OS.
Windows host:
Mac OSX host:
- NOTE: this only applies to WUBI Users
You should be able to run the JAR as if you had Linux installed natively because in a sense you do (as long as Java is installed and you run the Jar using Java) but if you rather run it in windows
Using terminal the following command in a Wubi installation of Ubuntu will copy the JAR file to the host Windows OS :
cp /meta-doctor/build/pre-p100eww-sprint-1.2.1/webosdoctorp100ewwsprint-1.2.1.jar /host/webosdoctorp100ewwsprint-1.2.1.jar
This will place the Jar either in your Windows C:\ drive or whatever drive you installed Wubi to.
Once the Doctor is running
- Select your language
- Accept the license agreement
- Connect your Pre to your PC via USB and select "Next" when it becomes available
After completion the device will reboot and present you with the activation set-up.
If your PC does not recognize your Pre and you cannot go past step 3 above, try the following steps:
- With the USB cable connected, power off the Pre
- Hold down the Up button on the volume rocker
- While holding the Up button, power on the Pre
- "Next" should now be enabled - proceed with the recovery
The above steps will put the Pre into bootloader recovery mode and should allow the PC to recognize your device and proceed with the restore. In this mode the screen will display a giant USB logo instead of the usual Palm startup logo.
When the process finishes, the Pre will reboot and your new modified image will have been installed.
If the Doctor will not run
Go here if you have further problems connecting your Pre to the running Meta'ed Doctor.
Using a Virtual Machine
If you do not have a Linux system, you will need to run the meta-doctor in a virtual machine. For windows users there are two options. For Mac users, follow option 1.
Running in VMware or VirtualBox
- Download Ubuntu 9.10.
- Download a virtual machine program, either vmware or virtualbox. A virtual machine is simply a program that allows you to piggyback a second operating system on top of your native OS without dual booting or actually having a Linux machine.
- I ended up using VirtualBox instead, because I found the VMware to be very confusing on what to actually download. The Virtual box website is very simple and straight forward. Here is a link for the virtualbox download for Windows: VirtualBox-3.0.10-54097-Win
- Now install virtualbox just like you would install any other application, nothing fancy here.
- Start up virtualbox and follow either of these instructions to install Ubuntu
Using WUBI
Windows users have another option to avoid using a virtual machine. They can use the meta doctor without harming your current installation of windows using simple Ubuntu installer called WUBI. Also no need for moding any partitions or installing any boot loaders. It will just appear as program in your installed software list and when you do not want it anymore simply uninstall it while in windows through Control Panel. It is easy and there is no virtual machine headaches of trying to configure USB, Network and File sharing with host computer... To access it you just reboot and choose Ubuntu from dual boot screen.
- download Ubuntu 9.10
- burn that file to a cd or mount to virtual drive
- Run cd in windows (the wubi.exe file inside the disk, it also comes up in auto run)
- Click on Install Inside windows.
- This will install Ubuntu while running Windows without the need of making a partition I would recomand making the install image the full recommended 30 gigs if you have the hard drive space and think you are interested in actually using the Ubuntu OS, otherwise the minimum recommended by Wubi should be just fine.
- Restart your computer and you can dual boot to Windows or Ubuntu
The nice thing about this is that it will allow you to uninstall Ubuntu right from Windows as if it was never there and remove the dual boot, not to mention the fact you do not need to partition your drive.
If you are still wondering what Wubi is the fallowing link should explain it to you better. Wubi Guide
Note: this will only work with the cd image found at the Ubuntu Download link. The dvd image of 9.04/9.10 is a live cd/installer and does not have the option to install inside windows using Wubi
Proceed in Linux to run the new Doctor
Go to the top of this article and follow the instructions as though you were running Linux, since you now are.